That, he says, means Labor has in fact cut foreign aid by 14 per cent while in power.

"The aid budget makes up just 1.5 per cent of the total government budget and yet over the last three years the sector has taken cuts of 14 per cent," he said.

"That's a big disproportionate cut, which tells me there really isn't principle behind this, that this is a soft target.

"On top of all the other delays and cuts that we have had, and the whole idea of still hitting our target of 0.5 gross national income, which was committed by Mr Carr and by Mr Rudd, is just not credible."

Dr Gillespire says AusAID programs will have to take a cut despite Australia's near region being in need.

"So much progress has been made, there are 14,000 more children under five who survive today than two decades ago, why stall that progress now?" he said.

"Australia, one of the wealthiest nations in the world yet 16th in the rank of OECD countries - we are just not generous, we're not stepping up, this is a further signal that we're not taking this seriously," he said.